National Institute on Drug Abuse
Director's Report to the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse
September, 1996
Media and Education Activities
Press Conferences
Press Conference on the Partnership for a Drug-Free America's National Heroin
Campaign. On June 17, 1996, Dr. Alan Leshner joined Gen. Barry McCaffrey,
Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and Richard Bonnette,
PDFA President and CEO in a press conference to release the PDFA's new national
heroin campaign. Dr. Leshner's statement focused on the dangers of heroin
use and the importance of research as a part of the President's comprehensive
drug strategy.
Press Conference to Announce the Findings from the 1995 National Household
Survey on Drug Abuse and the 1995 Drug Abuse Warning Network. On August
20, 1996, NIDA Deputy Director, Richard A. Millstein participated in a DHHS
press conference to announce the findings of the 1995 National Household
Survey on Drug Abuse and the 1995 Drug Abuse Warning Network. DHHS Secretary
Donna Shalala, ONDCP Director, Gen. Barry McCaffrey, and SAMHSA Administrator,
Nelba Chavez, released the findings at a Boys and Girls Club in Washington,
D.C.
Media Advisories
May 1996: NIDA-Funded Project--BEEMNET--Highlights Brain Awareness Week.
NIDA joined dozens of other Federal and private-sector sponsors in educational
activities to mark Brain Awareness Week, May 12-18. The NIDA-funded BEEMNET
(Brain Exchange Electronic Mentorship Network) was one unique project featured
during Brain Awareness week, organized by the Society for Neuroscience and
consisting of more than 100 events across the U.S., Canada and Mexico to
educate the public about the impact of neuroscience research on health and
human potential.
May 2, 1996: NIDA Seminar to Help With Drug Abuse Prevention in Communities
Throughout Ohio. NIDA and the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction
Services sponsored a one-day seminar, "Strengthening Communities through
Prevention: Applying Research to Policies and Programs." The event,
held Thursday, May 9 focused on state-of-the-art approaches to prevention
of alcohol and other drug abuse.
May 6, 1996: Messing with Your Head: Cocaine Found to Affect Endorphin
Gene in Brain. A quote from Dr. Leshner was included in this news release
from the Rockefeller University reporting that the effects of the addictive
drug cocaine result, in part, from altering the activity of a gene in the
brain. The study by Dr. Mary Jeanne Kreek and colleagues was published in
the May issue of Molecular Brain Research.
June 7, 1996: New Research May Explain Mechanisms of Abnormalities in
Offspring Prenatally Exposed to Cocaine. University of Massachusetts
researchers, funded by NIDA, have reported findings of experiments that
provide strong evidence that cocaine interacts directly with specific cocaine
receptors in the fetal rat brain. The study authored by Lauren Shearman,
Lucille Collins, and Jerrold Meyer appeared in the June issue of the Journal
of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.
June 19, 1996: What Can Your Listeners Do About Alcohol and Drug Abuse?
A quote from Dr. Leshner was included in this media Advisory from Join Together
announcing that Dr. Leshner and Dr. David Rosenbloom, director of Join Together,
were available for press interviews while in San Antonio, TX for a Conference:
What We Need to Take the Lead: Local Public Policy Matters.
August 2, 1996: ImmuLogic Awarded SBIR Grant to Develop Cocaine Vaccine.
A quote from Dr. Leshner was included in this news release from ImmuLogic
Pharmaceutical Corporation announcing it has received a Phase II Small Business
Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from NIDA to complete preclinical development
of the Company's therapeutic vaccine to treat cocaine abuse.
Other Press Activity
May 1996, Columbus, OH. Dr. Leshner was interviewed by the Columbus
Dispatch for an article that appeared the day prior to the NIDA Town meeting
in Ohio. While in Ohio, Dr. Leshner held an editorial board meeting with
editors of the Columbus Dispatch. Clips from Dr. Leshner's speech were up
linked through satellite to television stations throughout the State.
May 17, 1996: McCaffrey, Leshner Address COG Substance Abuse Symposium.
A quote from Dr. Leshner was included in the press release issued by the
Council of Governments announcing that Dr. Leshner and General Barry McCaffrey
would be addressing attendees at the Council of Government's Regional Substance
Abuse Symposium.
Letter to the Editor: On June 25, 1996, The Washington Post Health Magazine
published a letter to the Editor from Dr. Leshner commenting on the
May 7 article "The Detoxification Conundrum." Dr. Leshner's letter
corrects and clarifies misinformation given in the article and presents
issues of drug addiction that were not addressed in the article.
June 12, 1996, Dr. Leshner participated in an international broadcast
for WORLDNET with Latin American Officials addressing the drug problem.
The program is one of a series of programs on Narcotics Issues For Latin
American And Caribbean Networks. The program was interactive with panelists
in Peru, Ecuador, and Barbados.
June 22-27: College on Problems of Drug Dependence. Dr. Leshner was
interviewed by several local media outlets during the CPDD Conference. The
local English and Spanish dailies carried stories on the Conference and
included quotes from Dr. Leshner.
On-Camera Interview - On July 17, Dr. Leshner was interviewed on camera
for an ABC News segment on a Nature article on the effects of nicotine
and similarity to other addictive drugs. The segment aired on the ABC World
News Tonight, July 17.
August 9-13, 1996: Conference on Drug Abuse. There was a significant
media presence at the APA/CODA conference. Dr. Leshner was interviewed by
a Toronto Radio station following his presentation. Stories appearing in
the Toronto daily papers listed drug abuse among key issues being discussed
at the conference.
Dr. Alan I. Leshner published recent research findings leading to the development
of an anti cocaine medication in his article, "Molecular Mechanisms
of Cocaine Addiction, " in the New England Journal of Medicine,
335, pp. 128-129 (July 11), 1996.
Dr. Alan I. Leshner authored a guest editorial for the new journal Molecular
Psychiatry 1, pp. 168 169, 1996. Dr. Leshner's editorial, "Drug
Abuse and Addiction Research: Implications for the Field of Psychiatry"
introduced articles written by three NIDA-supported researchers.
Dr. Alan I. Leshner prepared an Op-Ed piece, "Drug Abuse and Addiction:
Roles for the Professional Psychologist", for the "Viewpoint"
section of the National Psychologist, an independent bimonthly newspaper
which circulates to over 25,000 practitioners nationwide.
On August 13, 1996, the New York Times' science section carried an
article devoted to the biological basis of craving and featured the work
of a number of NIDA grantees.
NIDA Exhibits
NIDA has exhibited at the following meetings/conferences over the last
several months:
American Psychiatric Association
May 4-9, 1996
New York, NY
NIDA/Ohio Dept. Of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services
Strengthening Communities Through Prevention:
Applying Research to Policies and Programs
May 9, 1996
Columbus, OH
National Institutes of Health
Employee Health Fair
May 14-15
Bethesda, MD
Council of Governments
Regional Substance Abuse Symposium
May 17, 1996
Washington, D.C.
Association for Health Services Research
13th Annual Meeting
June 9-11, 1996
Atlanta, GA
American Nurses Association
Biennial Convention
June 15-17, 1996
Washington, D.C.
Association for Health Services Research
13th Annual Meeting
June 9-11, 1996
Atlanta, GA
College on Problems of Drug Dependence
Fifty-Eighth Annual Scientific Meeting
June 22-27, 1996
San Juan, Puerto Rico
100th Annual Convention and Exhibition
National Parent Teachers Association (PTA)
June 22-25, 1996
Washington, D.C.
American Psychological Society
Eighth Annual Convention
June 29 - July 2, 1996
San Francisco, CA
XI International Conference on AIDS
July 7-12, 1996
Vancouver, BC Canada
(Provided publications and other materials for the NIH exhibit)
20th Annual Conference on Addiction Treatment
National Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors
July 24-27, 1996
Minneapolis, MN
American Psychological Association
NIDA Conference on Drug Abuse
August 9-13, 1996
Toronto, Canada
National Conference on Treatment Initiatives
National Treatment Consortium, Inc.
August 18-20, 1996
Bethesda, MD
For additional information about NIDA send e-mail to Information@nida.nih.gov
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